Hundreds of women who were forced to work in appalling conditions without pay
are about to receive compensation after a marathon legal battle.

The settlement, from the Irish government is the climax of a 12-year fight by
London lawyers to obtain justice for the women, who worked in what were
known as the Magdalene Laundries.

The victims — whose plight was highlighted in the film Philomena
starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan — had usually had a child outside
marriage and were required, literally, to wash away their sins.